When Todd Beamer High School senior Dax Wallat first picked up a golf club, he knew this was the sport for him.

“What I love about golf is that all the pressure is on me and no one else,” Wallat said. “It makes me want to push myself to get better and better.”

Wallat placed 10th at the district match, which sends him straight to state in May.

“This is a huge accomplishment,” said Brent Brilhante, coach. “It means Dax doesn’t have to compete in the district qualifier for state, he can just focus on getting ready for state.”

Wallat persevered through feeling ill the first day of districts and bad weather the second day.

“The weather was horrible and I wasn’t feeling my best, but I just decided to battle through it,” Wallat said. “I kept reminding myself that I really wanted to qualify for state.”

It took many hours of practice for Wallat to get where he is today.

“I didn’t start playing golf until my freshman year,” Wallat said. “I had hit the ball a few times with my dad, but that was it, so I had a lot to learn.”

Wallat practiced every day for three to four hours and went to a swing coach to improve his form.

“I didn’t start off a good player, but with practice I got better,” Wallat said.

Brilhante said Wallat is one of the hardest working golfers on the team.

“I came in to coach when he was a sophomore and heard through his peers about how much Dax had improved,” Brilhante said. “They said he had gotten physically bigger and was hitting his balls further.”

Brilhante recalled Wallat being an alternate his sophomore year for the district game.

“The first year I had him he was the first alternate and he ending up getting 35th place at the play-offs to go to state,” Brilhante said. “I could tell at that moment he would be a key player. He was loving every minute of the tournament, putting his fists up in excitement when he made a good shot and he wasn’t nervous at all.”

Wallat has been captain for the past two years.

“I like helping my teammates along and giving them advice on how to be better players,” Wallat said. “And they encourage me too.”

In addition to golf, Wallat is a 3.9 student and is taking a few honors courses, including calculus.

“He’s an amazing kid, exactly what we want our student athletes to be,” Brilhante said. “He works hard in school and golf and is nice to everyone.”

Wallat’s goals include finishing in the top 10 at state and playing golf at North Dakota State University.

“I verbally committed to playing at North Dakota State University and I really hope I get a golf scholarship,” Wallat said. “My grandma lives there and my dad played baseball there, so I can’t wait to carry on the tradition.”